Thank you!

I just wanted to thank those who have come over and stepped out on the religious discussion board. I have received a couple of nice notes that meant a lot to me, and a couple of people have popped in over there, and I think it has helped a lot at least to not feel so alone.

I really enjoy reading there, although I am not really great at expressing myself in a way that persuades.

I have lurked on the a/a board for years, and let me tell you, I really identify with most of them, especially those who identify as agnostic. We face the same kind of problems w/ fundamentalists as they do, and I really think their lack of belief in organized religion makes it easier for me to explain my beliefs, you know, because they have no preconceptions.

Much as I enjoy reading the responses you and others have made against the fundamentalists on the board, I just cannot bring myself to get too involved in those threads. I feel like I am banging my head against the wall.

Becky

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The pursuit of easy things makes men weak.

What is behind us, and what lies before us, is not nearly as important as what is inside us.

I think there is a great group of ladies over there. They are able to have misconceptions cleared up, and although they don't agree - they are willing to listen and they try to understand the belief - at least it allows them to be able to say:

That's not really what the LDS believe. I've had this discussion and they really think . . . .

Tilly, good job on following Elder Ballard's counsel to use the "new media" to explain our beliefs.

He said to “join the conversation by participating on the Internet, particularly
the New Media, to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear
terms the message of the Restoration...We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches...[Church leaders] can’t answer every question, satisfy every inquiry and respond to every inaccuracy that exists."

It's interesting that in the past I have felt that it was discouraged to try to satisfy every inquiry and respond to every inaccuracy, that it was thought to be a waste of time and a way to drive away the Spirit.

But now, we are explicitly being asked to do it?

I wonder what exactly has changed, what kind of revelation must have been received in order for this to be so.

Becky

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The pursuit of easy things makes men weak.

What is behind us, and what lies before us, is not nearly as important as what is inside us.

One day there was a subject that came up that I just was not even going to touch. I thought to myself, "This would simply be a debate, and that would be wrong."

Then another poster came on - one of the local bishops. He posted. The next post thanked him for being willing to have the conversation and asked point-blank, why so many members refuse to have the conversations. Or will stop posting because 'they don't debate'.

The Bishop's answer was something similar to: Members want to obey the commandment to spread the gospel, and they take it very seriously, but they also take the BoM reference saying 'contention is of the devil' very seriously as well. There is a fine line there, and many choose to stay far away. He went on to explain that he would rather clear up the confusion over the gospel than to let the 'critic' tell people what we believe.

In a personal message to me - before I knew who he was, he said: None of these people we are conversing with will accept the gospel. But we need to keep posting for those who are reading w/o our knowledge.

Those two things together made me realize the importance of making certain the lies aren't spread and for standing up for what we really believe. We still shouldn't get into arguments - and the bishop did mention there were times he had posted and then had need of repentance, but I think some valid points were made.

Now, if I could get him over here - WOW talk about a world of knowledge, the man is a walking LDS encyclopedia! I read his responses just for an extra Sunday school lesson!

KBM, that is my personal belief too. It isn't necessarily about those posting, but correcting incorrect things (I just can'nt stay away from that LOL) and making sure those who lurk understand what we believe, not allowing the lies to be seen as the truth.

Becky, if you read the entire article, it seems to be a change because of all the changes in media. And the flood of attention the church got when Romney was running for President. It seemed to me, in reading the article, that the church realized how powerful the Internet was, and how there are people out there that really just don't know what we really believe. And that they (church leaders) can't go out and correct every misunderstanding. I like what KBM said, too. It is hard to not cross the line into contending. Bearing testimony is always a good way to bring the topic out of debate realm. (At least, that worked on my mission.) It's harder for people to debate your opinion/testimony. It's how you feel.

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~Sophie

Since when was expanding big, expensive, massive, inefficient bureaucracy ever called reform?